Opinion and analysis

Recent opinion and analysis pieces written by UW-affiliated experts. See The Conversation for only the analysis pieces.

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Full archive of opinion and analysis stories

• Opinion: Plastic pollution: Hold Amazon accountable | The Seattle Times8 hours ago
  "I was deeply moved by the op-ed 'Amazon must do better with its packaging for our oceans’ sake' [April 4, Opinion], which sheds light on the devastating impact of Amazon’s plastic packaging choices. As a student at the University of Washington, I’m particularly troubled by this issue and the impact plastic pollution will have on my future environment," writes Emma Yeaman, a student at the UW, in a letter to the editor.
• Analysis: Saturn’s ocean moon Enceladus is able to support life − my research team is working out how to detect extraterrestrial cells there | The Conversation5 days ago
  "Saturn has 146 confirmed moons – more than any other planet in the solar system – but one called Enceladus stands out. It appears to have the ingredients for life," writes Fabian Klenner, postdoctoral scholar of Earth and space sciences.
• Opinion: Affordable housing is the solution to homelessness, not criminalization  | The Hill1 week ago
  "Too often, policymakers ignore the obvious solution to homelessness — housing — in favor of immediate (and generally ineffective) responses, such as criminalization," co-writes Gregg Colburn, associate professor of real estate at the UW.
• Opinion: Beyond the score: Funding the future of arts education in Washington | South Seattle Emerald2 weeks ago
  "In January 2022, Washington State acknowledged the critical role of arts education by passing Senate Bill 5878. Championed by Sen. Christine Rolfes and later modified through bipartisan efforts, the bill mandates regular arts instruction across schools starting in the 2023–24 school year. However, it falls short in one critical aspect: the provision of dedicated funding for its implementation," writes Nicole Stankovic, a graduate student of music.
• Analyisis: Infections after surgery are more likely due to bacteria already on your skin than from microbes in the hospital − new research | The Conversation2 weeks ago
  "Health care providers and patients have traditionally thought that infections patients get while in the hospital are caused by superbugs they’re exposed to while they’re in a medical facility. Genetic data from the bacteria causing these infections – think CSI for E. coli – tells another story: Most health care-associated infections are caused by previously harmless bacteria that patients already had on their bodies before they even entered the hospital," writes Dr. Dustin Long, associate professor of anesthesiology and pain medicine in the UW School of Medicine, and Dr. Chloe Bryson-Cahn, associate professor of allergy and infectious diseases in the UW School of Medicine.
• Opinion: Many patients, not enough beds: Here’s how to solve a care crisis | The Seattle Times2 weeks ago
  "Many barriers exist to discharging patients from hospitals, particularly for people with complex social, behavioral and medical issues. In many cases, staffing and reimbursement challenges limit the ability of post-acute care facilities to accept these patients. There might also be legal and regulatory barriers to discharge," write Cynthia Hecker, CEO of UW Medical Center; Jeannine Grinnell, CEO of Valley Medical Center; and Sommer Kleweno Walley, CEO of Harborview Medical Center.
• Opinion: Lessons for everyone, not just students, at MisinfoDay | The Seattle Times3 weeks ago
  "Approximately 650 Washington high school students, teachers and librarians traveled to local university campuses this month for MisinfoDay, an educational media literacy program that’s developed in recent years through a statewide partnership between the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public and Washington State University’s Edward R. Murrow College of Communication," writes Liz Crouse, program coordinator at the Center for an Informed Public. Mike Caulfield, research scientist at the UW Center for an Informed Public, is quoted.
• Analysis: Debunking J.K. Rowling's misinformation on trans history | Pride4 weeks ago
  "I’m a history professor. I do not spend time in that corner of the internet where the author of the beloved Harry Potter series stirs up strong feelings with her criticisms of the movement for transgender rights. However, I happen to be among the very few historians in the world who study the history of trans people and the Nazi State. My research has influenced public discussions about this topic in Germany and the US. Rowling’s critics quickly began citing my research, too," writes Laurie Marhoefer, professor of history at the UW.
• Opinion: Ph.D. students shouldn’t focus only on dissertation | Inside Higher Ed4 weeks ago
  While key, completing a thesis is the least important aspect of your Ph.D., writes María P. Ángel, a doctoral student at the UW, and you should also focus on three other areas.
• Analysis: Office-to-residential conversion is a trendy idea for downtown resurgence — but has big challenges | GeekWire4 weeks ago
  "Office-to-residential conversions are frequent fodder in discussions of the post-pandemic city, downtown regeneration, and hopes to contain rising housing costs. Remote work is here to stay, especially in hybrid form in the tech-centric Seattle area. Office buildings are partially occupied or empty and no longer needed for their former use. Cities need to generate tax revenue," writes Chuck Wolfe, affiliate associate professor of urban design and planning at the UW.
• Opinion: Human genetics research is critical to Seattle-area economy | The Seattle Times1 month ago
  "Among U.S. cities, Seattle’s economy is one that benefits most from human genetics and genomics research, having become a powerhouse among research hubs in this field. ... I encourage all federally elected officials to put aside partisan side issues and work together to further strengthen their commitment and support for this field and the NIH," writes Dr. Gail Jarvik, professor and chair of medical genetics at the UW School of Medicine.
• Analysis: Free school meals for all may reduce childhood obesity, while easing financial and logistical burdens for families and schools | The Conversation1 month ago
  "School meals are critical to child health. Research has shown that school meals can be more nutritious than meals from other sources, such as meals brought from home," write the UW's Jessica Jones-Smith, associate professor of epidemiology and of health systems and population health, and Anna Localio, a doctoral student of health systems and population health.
• Opinion: We know how important nutrition is for health — it’s time to fortify the Farm Bill  | The Hill1 month ago
  "Income-based health disparities in the United States are among the worst in the world, and poor nutrition is at the heart of the problem," co-writes Dr. Jim Krieger, clinical professor of health services at the UW.
• Analysis: Salty foods are making people sick − in part by poisoning their microbiomes | The Conversation1 month ago
  "Today, salt has become ubiquitous and highly concentrated in increasingly processed diets. The evidence has mounted that too much salt – specifically the sodium chloride added to preserve and enhance the flavor of many highly processed foods – is making people sick," writes Dr. Christopher Damman, clinical associate professor of gastroenterology in the UW School of Medicine.
• Analysis: What is the Japanese ‘wabi-sabi’ aesthetic actually about? ‘Miserable tea’ and loneliness, for starters | The Conversation1 month ago
  "Wabi-sabi is typically described as a traditional Japanese aesthetic: the beauty of something perfectly imperfect, in the sense of 'flawed' or 'unfinished.' Actually, however, wabi and sabi are similar but distinct concepts, yoked together far more often outside Japan than in it," writes Paul Atkins, professor of Asian languages and literature at the UW.
• Opinion: Switching the clocks twice a year isn’t just annoying — it’s deadly | The New York Times1 month ago
  "An hour of the day will be unceremoniously snatched away on Sunday as we 'spring forward' to daylight saving time," writes Laura Prugh, associate professor of environmental and forest sciences at the UW.
• Analysis: Immune cells can adapt to invading pathogens, deciding whether to fight now or prepare for the next battle | The Conversation2 months ago
  "How does your immune system decide between fighting invading pathogens now or preparing to fight them in the future? Turns out, it can change its mind," write the UW's bioengineering doctoral students Kathleen Abadie and Elisa Clark; and Hao Yuan Kueh, associate professor of bioengineering.
• Opinion: If we can find millions to build fences around a youth jail, we can invest in helping youth thrive | South Seattle Emerald2 months ago
  "Recent headlines about youth running away from a juvenile detention facility, and the fence currently under construction in response, have added fuel to an ongoing debate about our state’s juvenile rehabilitation system — how it’s working, if it’s working, and what to do to improve it," cowrites Sarah Cusworth Walker, research associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences in the UW School of Medicine.
• Opinion: IVF treatment builds families — we need to preserve it | The Seattle Times2 months ago
  "As a UW Medicine physician, I fully support the principle that everyone should have access to the full spectrum of reproductive health care services they need, including IVF," writes Dr. Ginny Ryan, professor of obstetrics and gynecology and division chief for reproductive endocrinology and infertility in the UW School of Medicine.
• Analysis: Trump is no Navalny, and prosecution in a democracy is a lot different than persecution in Putin’s Russia | The Conversation2 months ago
  "The death of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, announced on Feb. 16, 2024, lays bare to the world the costs of political persecutions. Although his cause of death remains unknown, the 47-year-old died while serving a 19-year sentence in a Siberian penal colony," writes James Long, professor of political science at the UW.
• Analysis: The quest for a DNA data drive | IEEE Spectrum2 months ago
  "Data is piling up exponentially, and the rate of information production is increasing faster than the storage density of tape, which will only be able to keep up with the deluge of data for a few more years," writes Rob Carlson, affiliate professor of computer science and engineering at the UW.
• Analysis: Several companies are testing brain implants — why is there so much attention swirling around Neuralink? Two professors unpack the ethical issues | The Conversation2 months ago
  "Putting a computer inside someone’s brain used to feel like the edge of science fiction. Today, it’s a reality. Academic and commercial groups are testing “brain-computer interface” devices to enable people with disabilities to function more independently. Yet Elon Musk’s company, Neuralink, has put this technology front and center in debates about safety, ethics and neuroscience," co-write Nancy Jecker, professor of bioethics and humanities in the UW School of Medicine, and Dr. Andrew Ko, assistant professor of neurological surgery at the UW.
• Analysis: Synthetic human embryos let researchers study early development while sidestepping ethical and logistical hurdles | The Conversation3 months ago
  "Embryonic development, also known as embryogenesis, is a cornerstone in understanding the origins of life. But studying this marvel of intricate and layered biological processes in people faces considerable challenges. Early-stage human embryos are difficult to obtain. Then there are ethical issues surrounding their use. This has made it difficult for scientists to understand early human development," writes Min Yang, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology in the UW School of Medicine.
• Analysis: Supreme Court shocker? Here’s what happens if Trump gets kicked off the ballot | Politico3 months ago
  "This is a vexing and necessary question. Section 3 of the 14th Amendment plainly bars Donald Trump from becoming president again. From a strictly legal standpoint, it should be a no-brainer even for this Supreme Court to apply it to preclude his candidacy. But the political landscape is dry tinder, and the consequences of Trump’s exclusion from the presidential race could be incendiary," cowrites Steven Simon, visiting professor of practice in Middle East Studies at the UW.
• Analysis: Mac at 40: User experience was the innovation that launched a technology revolution | The Conversation3 months ago
  "Technology innovation requires solving hard technical problems, right? Well, yes. And no. As the Apple Macintosh turns 40, what began as Apple prioritizing the squishy concept of 'user experience' in its 1984 flagship product is, today, clearly vindicated by its blockbuster products since," writes Jacob Wobbrock, professor in the UW Information School.
• Opinion: Martin Luther King Jr. and the power that we, and our language, hold | The Seattle Times3 months ago
  "The words we use hold power. They can uplift, do harm, be suppressed, be vile, or give comfort. They offer a measure of our beliefs and our lives. We celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., honoring his use of words to lift the moral consciousness of a nation and world. King managed to find the words to challenge Americans from all corners of society," writes Ed Taylor, UW vice provost and dean for Undergraduate Academic Affairs.
• Analysis: Your body already has a built-in weight loss system that works like Wegovy, Ozempic and Mounjaro — food and your gut microbiome | The Conversation3 months ago
  "It turns out your body produces natural versions of (drugs like Wegovy) – also known as incretin hormones – in your gut. It may not be surprising that nutrients in food help regulate these hormones. But it may intrigue you to know that the trillions of microbes in your gut are key for orchestrating this process," writes Dr. Christopher Damman, clinical associate professor of gastroenterology in the UW School of Medicine.
• Opinion: Yes, schools should teach morality — but whose morals? | Time3 months ago
  "As schools across the country experience book bans and attempts to limit the curriculum, in Texas one group led by the spiritual adviser to former President Donald Trump fought in the past year to bring biblical values to the classroom. In support of such efforts, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz warned, 'there is an evil agenda [and] we are the only thing that stands between the destruction of American or the revival America,'" writes Mallory Hutchings-Tryon, instructor of education at the UW.
• Opinion: The growth of Southeast Asian and Korean programs at the UW | Northwest Asian Weekly4 months ago
  "Asian communities in Washington are changing, and our state’s century-old Asian languages department must change as well. Comparison of the U.S. 2020 Census results with the previous 2010 Census demonstrates that Asian demographics in our state and region are undergoing dramatic changes," writes Zev Handel, professor and department chair of Asian languages and literature at the UW.
• Opinion: Why navigating COVID vaccines is harder now | The Seattle Times4 months ago
  "We are a two-physician family with two young kids, ages 4 and 2. With our employment and private health insurance, it should be simple to find COVID-19 vaccines for our family, right? Wrong," co-write the UW School of Medicine's Dr. Kathleen Li, acting instructor of emergency medicine, and Dr. Christopher Su, assistant professor of hematology and oncology. A UW study is mentioned.

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